


Panic! in the Panic Room

by EasilySpooked, uhmmmusernames



Series: Jeff/Craig Arc [1]
Category: Community (TV)
Genre: Adventures in Quaran-dean, Biting, Craig finally gets his mans, First Kiss, Fluff, Gay Panic, Hide and Seek, Jeff being a hopeless gay, M/M, Panic Room, Quarantine, Trapped
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:33:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23783209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EasilySpooked/pseuds/EasilySpooked, https://archiveofourown.org/users/uhmmmusernames/pseuds/uhmmmusernames
Summary: Jeff is trapped in the panic room during what he thought was going to be a short game of hide and seek, leaving him alone with the dean. What happens when his repressed emotions decide to make a violent reappearance?
Relationships: Dean Craig Pelton/Jeff Winger
Series: Jeff/Craig Arc [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1718497
Comments: 9
Kudos: 144
Collections: Adventures in Quaran-dean





	Panic! in the Panic Room

Jeff slipped into the panic room, checking to make sure no one was following. Hide and seek was a pointless pastime, but he hadn’t been allowed to tap out. He was confident that this hiding place was so stupid he would be found in seconds. Sighing, he sat down at the desk and reached to grab his phone from his pocket, and was surprised when he wasn’t able to feel its familiar form. He cursed under his breath and leaned his head back. This was going to be a long few minutes.

He barely had time to draw another breath before someone else came barreling into the room. Jeff’s eyes were assaulted by a sweaty, gasping dean standing in front of him, black hair from the wig he was wearing plastered to his face. Craig leaned against the wall, panting as if he’d just run a mile. He had an outfit on that faintly resembled something a ninja might wear, if the ninja were also a part time worker at a strip club. Ribbons were wrapped around his arms and legs, as well as around his midriff, which was left vulnerable by the black crop top he boasted. The top featured a cut that went down the middle, exposing his defined pecs. Jeff’s eyes were drawn unwillingly to the tiny shorts, something more daring than a lot of the other costumes the dean sported. They stared at each other, eyes wide, while the dean tried to form a sentence. 

“You gotta… let me hide here” He wheezed. “I’ve… been trying to find a hiding spot all over this place but all the best ones are taken.”

Jeff struggled to comprehend what was happening. “What the hell!? What are you wearing? You were  _ not _ wearing that a few minutes ago, when did you have time to change? Why are you so sweaty?”

“Jeffrey.” The dean tilted his head disapprovingly at him. “You should know by now that I am an  _ expert  _ at costume changes. And  _ obviously _ I’m a little bit moist because I only had 100 seconds to get dressed and hide!”

Jeff scrunched up his nose in disgust. “Don’t ever describe yourself as moist again. We’re gonna be found soon anyway, this is the most obvious hiding place in the whole mansion. Abed isn’t stupid, this’ll probably be the first place he’ll check. You shouldn’t have tried so hard.”

Craig raised an eyebrow at Jeff. “Don’t be silly. I didn’t dress up for nothing. We’re going to win.”

“Oh really?” Jeff scoffed. With that, the dean turned around and slammed his fist down on the big red button beside the door. Jeff gaped in surprise, motionless just long enough for the door to click shut. He let out a cry of rage and just barely restrained himself from wringing the bald man’s neck.

“You  _ idiot _ . Why the hell would you do that!?” Jeff screeched.

The dean looked taken aback. “No one except Pierce knows the code, and Pierce would know all the best places to hide in his own house, so that means we’ll be the last ones found.” He explained. His smug voice made Jeff want to rip his hair out.

“We don’t know the code either, genius!” Jeff stalked closer to the dean, growling under his breath. “All I wanted was to get this stupid game over with in the shortest amount of time possible. And now I’m trapped in here, with  _ you,  _ and I don’t even have my phone.” He dragged a hand across his face and wailed in frustration. “Abed better get us out of here soon or  _ so help me god _ .” 

Jeff twirled around, ignoring the dean’s offended expression, and punched a wall. “ _ Fuck!” _ He swore, holding his bruised knuckles. Defeated, he thumped down onto the bed, glowering at the dean from under his eyebrows. He knew he was acting slightly irrational, but at the moment that suited him just fine. All his pent-up emotions were driving him mad, and with the quarantine there hadn’t been a single moment to himself to let off steam. It didn’t help that he had to spend even more time with the dean, the one person who confused him emotionally the most. 

Craig cleared his throat and adjusted his wig, throwing the big, black ponytail over his shoulder. “Well.” He trailed off, unsure of what to do next. “I mean, we could make the most of this situation and get to know each other a little better.”

“I’m sorry, but I really can’t put up with you trying to get in my pants right now.” Jeff said through gritted teeth. He regretted it an instant later when the optimistic expression on the dean's face fell rapidly into pain. Craig pulled the rolling chair to the opposite side of the room and sat down, refusing to look at Jeff. They fell into an uncomfortable silence, neither daring to say the next word.

\-------

Abed finished counting to 100, and turned around, intent on finding everyone as fast as possible. He already had a pretty good idea of where Troy would be, his fascination with the indoor swing room his greatest downfall. He was only worried about Pierce, because he knew the place inside and out. Hide and seek had been a great idea, it was something to boost their spirits after being cooped up for so long. Abed was positive that by the end, they would all be a little bit happier and calmer.

In the distance he could hear a murmuring of voices and then the soft  _ whump  _ of a door closing. He cocked his head to the side in confusion. That sounded like the door to the panic room. But that couldn’t be possible, no one here would be stupid enough to lock themselves in without knowing the password. Unless Pierce was trying to cheat. Intent on finding out, he set off in the direction of the panic room.

He did a careful sweep of the room before he pulled the painting away from the wall. He didn’t think anyone would use the panic room as a distraction, but it couldn’t hurt to check. He reached for the remote that would turn the surveillance camera on and was shocked to find it was still in pieces from when Troy accidentally broke it the last time they were here.

“Hmm… Looks like I’ll have to find another way to see in.” He monologued to himself, setting off in search of the swivelling bookcase. 

\-------

They had been waiting in a stressful silence for what felt like hours. The dean was curled up in his chair, stroking his wig absentmindedly. Jeff had ended up lying on his back, trying to interest himself with the ceiling. The more he tried not to get lost in the confusing knot that were his emotions, the more the silence forced him to. The dean was at the forefront of his mind. He disliked the dean, at least he thought he did. He was supposed to casually brush off the dean’s attempts at flirting and move on. But the more the dean flirted, the more Jeff thought about him. Recently, he’d found himself excited to hear one of his dumb puns as he entered the study room, and every compliment Craig threw his way made his heart do a stupid little jump inside his chest. He’d been able to ignore it, for the most part, but the second they were all locked in the same house together the dean’s presence had been suffocating. Jeff was astounded at how adept Craig was at sneaking in a few stray touches here and there every few minutes. It didn’t help that every nudge or stroke of the dean’s hand sent a bolt of electricity through his body, which was getting stronger the more it happened. His heart would start pounding at a glance from the smaller man, and it was getting too much to handle.

“You know, I really wasn’t trying to get in your pants earlier. I just wanted to talk.” The dean pouted. Jeff opened his mouth to retort, but his words died in his mouth. It hadn’t been fair of him to accuse the dean of something like that, even though it was usually true. He looked across the room at the miserable man slowly spinning his chair in circles. For the first time he saw the dean for who he was; an outgoing guy who didn’t know how to deal with his feelings. Everything he did was a desperate attempt to get his crush to notice him, and with every rejection his plans became more drastic. He refused to give up because he simply did not know how to. He couldn’t manage the heartbreak it would bring.

Jeff groaned and dragged his hands down his face, his pride was seriously upset at him for what he was about to do. “You know what, fine. Let’s talk.” Upon seeing the dean jump up like a happy puppy Jeff scrambled to explain himself, embarrassed. “I-I mean there’s not much else to do in here. It’s just to pass the time.”

“I would love to.” Craig scooted his chair beside the bed and beamed at him. “Okay, what’s something not many people know about you? I’ll go first, I’ll eat any kind of pasta unless it has cheese. Once someone adds cheese it ruins the whole flavour.” He looked expectantly at Jeff. “Now it’s your turn.”

“Uh..” Jeff shrugged his shoulders, at a loss. “I don’t know. I used to read a lot, before I had more important things to do. I really liked sci-fi for a while but I never told anyone.”

Craig nodded his head in encouragement. “You’re getting the hang of it!” Jeff couldn’t help but smile, his enthusiasm was infectious. Maybe this hadn’t been such a bad idea after all. Craig hopped off his chair and sat on the bed cross legged. Jeff scooted backwards in surprise as the dean turned to face him. “My turn again. I  _ really  _ like dalmatians.”

\-------

Abed studied the wall of monitors. He had slipped into Pierce’s secret surveillance room in the hopes of getting a glimpse inside the panic room. Quickly he flipped through the different feeds, searching for the right one. When he finally landed on the correct video Abed was shocked at what he saw. He had to admit that he hadn’t been expecting Jeff and the dean to be hiding together, let alone in a tiny, inescapable room. He shrugged. It was a slight inconvenience, but all he had to do was find Pierce and get the code.

Just as Abed was about to leave, he paused. There was something about this that was nagging at him. He turned back to the live feed and watched the dean say something to Jeff. As he watched, a small smile began to grow on Jeff’s face. Abed tipped his head to the side in surprise. The two men were quite close on the bed, and both obviously enjoying themselves. Jeff didn’t usually let his guard down like that, especially around the dean. Abed settled down onto a chair, certain that he was witnessing something special and not about to miss out on it. 

Before he forgot about hide and seek, he fiddled with a few controls and connected to the intercom, careful not to broadcast to the panic room. “I’m sorry everyone, but the game has been cancelled. If you want, come join me in Pierce’s secret surveillance room to watch a live romance.” Clicking it off, he watched as his confused friends began to crawl out of their hiding places. Before he lost another second, he grabbed an empty tape and popped it into the recorder, ready to capture every second of the movie scene playing out in front of him. He leaned back and turned up the volume, immersing himself in the voices that sprung to life.

\-------

Jeff howled with laughter, surprising both himself and the dean. He’d only meant to let out a polite chuckle at Craig’s joke, but once he’d started laughing he couldn’t stop. The absurdity of the situation had hit him all at once. Here he was, trapped with the man who he had every means to hate, and enjoying himself. Jeff was astounded at how much he liked the other’s company. His smiles were adorable, his eyes intoxicating and his mouth distracting. He was lost in the dean’s stories, which seemed more interesting to him than anything he’d heard before. Their conversation flowed smoothly, Jeff found him absurdly easy to talk to. At some point they’d ended up side by side with their backs against the wall, only a few inches apart. The close proximity had started a warmth growing in Jeff’s chest which he chose to ignore.

Craig joined the laughter and rested his hand on Jeff’s shoulder while he tried to compose himself. Jeff held his breath and blushed as his heart picked up speed. He could feel each of the dean’s long fingers pressing into his skin through his shirt. Shivers raced up his arm as Craig squeezed his shoulder fondly. All of a sudden the hand was yanked away. Jeff looked up in surprise.

The dean had folded his hands together and was staring at them, ashamed. “I’m sorry, I did it again. While things were going so well too…” 

“Did what?” Jeff asked.

Craig chuckled sadly. “‘Tried to get into your pants’” He quoted.

Jeff bit his lip and tried not to make eye contact. “It was fine. Touch, I mean. Don’t worry about it.” Hesitantly he added, “You… you could do it more. I li… don’t mind.” His face was burning. Had he really just said that? He sounded like a love sick teenager. He sounded like the  _ dean _ . He was frozen in shock. Craig had been touching him enough without permission, Jeff could hardly imagine what he would do now. The thought made him shiver.

Craig reached over and squeezed Jeff’s knee, sending him snapping back to reality through the lighting storm it brought. His entire leg was tingling. The feeling could get addictive if Jeff wasn’t careful. “Thanks Jeffrey.” The dean crooned. By some miracle Jeff was able to give a small smile amidst the fireworks going off in his brain. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Jeff was supposed to be feeling this for a girl, not a small, bald man. But he couldn’t deny his feelings any longer. He liked something about Craig, something that made him want to hold him in his arms, and talk to him for hours, and give him little kisses whenever he wanted. The longer he stayed in here, the harder it was to keep his hands off him. Jeff wasn’t used to holding himself back from flirting and taking what he wanted, but these new sensations were scaring him. Since when did he start liking men? Or was the dean the only man he liked? And on that note, when and why did he start liking Craig? Maybe it was his persistent teasing that had awakened this in him. Regardless, he didn’t know what to do next. 

Jeff cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably. He turned to face the dean, but that only made things worse. His heart was going a mile a minute and he suddenly became very aware of how small the room was. The walls seemed to be closing in, trapping him with the problem he’d hoped to avoid.

“Are you alright?” Craig asked softly. And Jeff, ready to deliver some lame excuse, was left dumb when he met the other man’s eyes. He could stare into those eyes for hours and not get bored. Half without meaning to, he slowly rested his hand over the dean’s and interlocked their fingers. With his other hand, he brushed a few strands of black hair off Craig’s face. Craig looked up at him, his lips slightly parted, shivering in surprise at what was happening. Jeff was inches away from the dean’s face, and he realized that he could easily lean down and kiss him any second now. He moved slightly closer and paused, letting the dean’s irregular breaths brush against his chin, and pulled away.

Craig all but collapsed as Jeff backed off, the excitement of the situation too much for him to bear. Jeff ran his hands through his hair nervously, upset that he didn’t have the courage to follow through. “Sorry. I don’t know what came over me. It must be th-”

He was cut off by a pair of lips smashing against his. Craig was holding his face in his hands and kissing him like his life depended on it. Jeff let out a muffled cry of surprise before succumbing to the dean. They stayed like that for a while, vigorously trying to take out their sexual frustrations on each other's mouths. Jeff was the one to break away, but it was only for a second. He pulled Craig into his lap and wrapped his arms around his waist. As an afterthought he pulled the ponytail off his head, getting the hair out of the way. Craig grinned and ran his hands up Jeff’s chest, going in for a light peck before he studied Jeff’s face.

“You have driven me crazy Jeffrey, you know that? If only you’d done this sooner.” He pressed soft kisses down his neck and sucked on the skin at the base, making Jeff squirm.

“Yeah well, I’ve never done anything with a guy before. This is new to me.” He gasped. Craig hummed playfully against his collarbone, sending vibrations through his skin. 

“Enough talking.” Craig declared, and locked his lips with Jeff’s again. Jeff was drowning in the bliss of the whole situation. Kissing had never felt so electric. He leaned into the kiss, tilting his head to get a better angle. Their mouths were moving in synchrony. Jeff could feel the slight roughness of the dean’s lips against his own and revelled in the friction. Craig was busy feeling up Jeff’s chest the way he’d never been able to before. In response, Jeff reached down to squeeze the dean’s ass, eliciting a small gasp from the man in his lap. Craig smiled into the kiss and pressed his tongue against Jeff’s lips, licking his way inside. Jeff couldn’t help but gasp as he explored his mouth. He was teasing and sensual, pressing in deep, only to pull away slightly and come back softer. Jeff couldn’t take much more and decided it was his turn to take control.

Without much warning he pushed Craig down onto the bed, causing him to squeal in surprise. Jeff descended on him with a guttural growl, pinning the smaller man to the mattress. Their legs tangled together as he pressed against the dean, who moaned at the contact. Jeff pressed his lips against Craig’s, nibbling gently at his lower lip. Craig reached up for a kiss but Jeff pulled back, smirking. He propped himself up on his elbows and leaned over, pulling at the dean’s ear with his teeth. Craig bucked up against him and both men cried out with pleasure. Unable to hold himself back any longer, Jeff locked lips with the dean and slipped his tongue into his mouth. Craig tangled his hands in Jeff’s hair and tugged it, sending shivers up his spine. He licked the velvety inside of the dean’s mouth with renewed vigour, their tongues working together in a dance of passion. This was so much better than Jeff could have hoped.

Just as Jeff started using his fingers to tease Craig’s exposed stomach, they heard the tell-tale beep of someone unlocking the door. Jeff jumped and struggled to get off the dean. Craig let out a quiet shriek, scrambling for a blanket to hide his obvious arousal. They had just barely sat up when the door swung open. In stepped all of their friends, knowing smiles on their faces.

“I called it!” Pierce exclaimed. Britta squealed in excitement, bouncing on her heels. Annie looked a little disappointed, but was grinning all the same. 

Troy shook his head, completely thunderstruck. “I did not see that coming.” He confessed. Abed rested a hand on his shoulder and faced the confused couple.

“As soon as I realized you were playing out a romantic subplot without us I called off the game and we watched you over the surveillance system. We thought it best to stop you now before you went any farther.”

“Yeah, get a room you guys.” Britta teased.

Jeff spluttered in indignation. “We  _ did _ get a room!” He cried. “Wha- you guys  _ watched us _ ?” He was utterly at a loss. How much was he supposed to endure in one day? First he had to overcome a huge personal barrier and now it’s revealed that they were being spied on the entire time. 

Craig, although just as surprised, seemed to be incapable of feeling embarrassment. He was giggling softly, his kiss-swollen lips proudly on display. He found Jeff’s hand and twined their fingers together, giving him a soft squeeze. 

“Hey Jeff.” Pierce asked, a triumphant grin on his face. “You’re gay.”

“Wow thanks Pierce, very insightful.” Jeff groaned, squeezing Craig’s hand back.

Britta started to usher everyone out. “We’ll give you time to, you know,  _ calm down _ .” She glanced pointedly at Jeff’s crotch and laughed. He glared and adjusted his pants, his face burning red again. Once they were gone, Craig pulled his hand out of Jeff’s only to brush it against his cheek lovingly. Jeff leaned into the touch, surprised at how much comfort it could bring, and caught the hand before it could drop. He pressed a kiss into his knuckles and looked into the dean’s eyes. 

“You are a dream come true.” Craig hummed. He pulled away and stood up. “I’m going to go back to my room to take care of this,” He gestured to the blanket he still held in front of his crotch. “You’re welcome to join me if you want.”

Jeff smiled and nodded, kissing the dean lightly on the cheek before they left the panic room.

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of a full quarantine collection created by me and my friend! Check it out, we'll be posting more soon.


End file.
